You may be here this morning because of tradition, curiosity or the urging of others. If you are our guest this morning, you may wonder why we do what we do. We are here today not because of tradition, although we do celebrate this date each year. We are here today not because we discuss interesting things, although the discussion of what is in God’s perfect word is fascinating and equips for every good work. We are here this today not because we just want to interact with others, even though the camaraderie, comfort and encouragement of others is substantial. We are here this morning because Jesus Christ, who existed for all eternity as God, was born of a woman, lived a perfect life, suffered, died and rose again.
Christ’s death and resurrection in space and time, as bona fide historical events, actually set Christianity apart from all its major rivals. Later Western religions that developed in part in reaction to Christianity do not claim deity or resurrections for their originators, merely prophetic status (e.g., Mohammed in Islam or Joseph Smith in Mormonism). Older Eastern religions do not even require the actual historical existence of their founders for their beliefs and practices to make sense. In some ways they are more akin to philosophies than to historical truth-claims (e.g., Hinduism, Buddhism, Confucianism) (Norman Anderson, Christianity and World Religions (Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 1984).).
Without the appeal to historical facts, we have no way of mediating between the competing claims of largely parallel personal experiences. Mormons, Buddhists, and Christians alike often testify today to some strong feeling or spiritual encounter that “confirmed” the truth of their faith. But since these three religions contradict each other at important points, all cannot be simultaneously true. Christians must appeal to more than a personal testimony; they must recognize the historical evidence that is on their side (Blomberg, C. (1994). The NIV Application Commentary: 1 Corinthians (308). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.).
In spite of the fact that the resurrection of believers is taught in the Old Testament, in the teaching of Jesus during His earthly ministry, and in the teaching of the apostles, serious doubts about it have infected many people today as it did of the Corinthian Christians. It is those doubts that the Apostle Paul forcefully counters in 1 Corinthians 15. God infallibly spoke through Paul when he wondered:
1 Corinthians 15:12 [12]Now if Christ is proclaimed as raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? (ESV)
The construction of the sentence here (ei with the indicative) implies a condition that is true. The Corinthians believed in Christ’s resurrection (1 Cor. 15:1, 11) and that He was presently alive (emphasized by the perfect tense of egeirō, as/has been raised). How then could they logically deny the general truth of resurrection? Since Christ has been raised, resurrection obviously is possible. That Christ is raised from the dead means that Jesus has been raised by God the Father from death. Paul’s teachings about resurrection are remarkably unequivocal: resurrection is at the center of everything Christians are asked to believe. Ten times in this short passage he employs one form or another of the Greek verb “to raise” (egeirō). Six times the verb occurs in the perfect tense, indicating the completed action with a present implication (Van Harn, R. (2001). The lectionary commentary : Theological exegesis for Sunday’s texts (219). Grand Rapids, Mich.: Eerdmans.).
The "some of you" (τινες) were almost certainly Gentiles, brought up under the influence of Greek philosophy, not Jews with Sadducean prejudices. Possibly they held that matter was evil, and that it was incredible that a soul, once set free by death, would return to its unclean prison. Or they may have been influenced by a popular form of Epicurean materialism. They had been brought up in the belief that at death existence either ceases entirely, or becomes so shadowy as to be worthless: in any case the body perishes utterly (Robertson, A., & Plummer, A. (1911). A critical and exegetical commentary on the First epistle of St. Paul to the Corinthians (346–347). New York: C. Scribner’s Sons.)
• One of the greatest myths of Christianity is that it is just, so called, heavenly minded. Christianity rejects that there is no real hear and now, or that we are just to live for here and now. Christianity clarifies what the here and now is all about and to live right now for something greater than here and now.
In verses 13–20 the apostle demonstrates that the resurrection is not only possible but essential to the faith, by giving seven disastrous consequences, four theological and three personal, that would result if there were no resurrection: (1) Christ would not be risen; (2) preaching of the gospel would be meaningless; (3) faith in Christ would be worthless; (4) all witnesses to and all preachers of the resurrection would be liars; (5) Everyone would still be in their sins; (6) all former believers who have now died would have eternally perished; and (7) Christians would be the most pitiable people on earth.
1) The Theological Consequences of No Resurrection(1 Cor. 15:13–15)
1 Corinthians 15:13-15 [13]But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. [14]And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain. [15]We are even found to be misrepresenting God, because we testified about God that he raised Christ, whom he did not raise if it is true that the dead are not raised. (ESV)
a) Christ Would Not Be Risen (1 Cor. 15:13)
The first and most obvious consequence of there being no resurrection would be that not even Christ has been raised. “As anyone should easily deduce,” Paul argues, “if the dead cannot rise, Christ did not rise.”
It is likely that the disbelieving Corinthians got around that problem by claiming that Christ was not really a man, or was not fully a man. Because of their dualistic orientation, that the spirit is good and all matter is bad, they assumed that because Christ was divine He could not possibly have been human, and therefore only appeared to be human. Consequently He did not really die but only appeared to die. According to this view, His appearances between the crucifixion (an illusion) and the ascension were simply continuing manifestations that only seemed to be bodily.
• This is the belief of groups like Muslims and those who are liberal to facts.
Quote: To break or deny any one of these three links is to destroy the whole chain of God’s saving purposes in Christ. The three links are the future resurrection of the dead, the present experience of the forgiveness of our sins through faith, and the resurrection of Jesus from the dead. To deny or eliminate any of these three is like trying to sew a fabric without a knot in the thread (Brunner as quoted in Johnson, A. F. (2004). Vol. 7: 1 Corinthians. The IVP New Testament commentary series (288–289). Downers Grove, Ill.: InterVarsity Press.).
Please turn to Luke 24
To deny the resurrection, of course, cannot square with what the gospel writers, Jesus Himself, and the apostles taught. The gospel accounts of Jesus’ earthly life and ministry are of a person who was entirely human. He was born to a human mother, and He ate, drank, slept, became tired, was crucified, was stabbed, bled, and died. At His first appearance to the twelve after the crucifixion, Jesus made a point of having the disciples touch Him in order to prove that He was not simply a spirit:
Luke 24:39-43 [39]See my hands and my feet, that it is I myself. Touch me, and see. For a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have." [40]And when he had said this, he showed them his hands and his feet. [41]And while they still disbelieved for joy and were marveling, he said to them, "Have you anything here to eat?" [42]They gave him a piece of broiled fish, [43]and he took it and ate before them. (ESV)
The Corinthians could not fall back on the pagan notion that Christ only appeared to be human. He was fully human; He physically lived and died and lived again. Therefore, if there is no such thing as physical resurrection, not even Christ has been raised.
b) Preaching of the Gospel Would Be Meaningless (1 Cor. 15:14a)
The second consequence of there being no resurrection is listed in verse 14. Preaching of the gospel would be vain, completely meaningless. It is not enough that a person believes something. It is absolutely essential that what one believes is true. The object of our faith is important. A dead Savior cannot take away sins, rescue us from God’s wrath, or develop a relationship with us (Radmacher, E. D., Allen, R. B., & House, H. W. (1999). Nelson’s new illustrated Bible commentary (1 Co 15:14). Nashville: T. Nelson Publishers.).
Look back in this chapter to verse 3
As Paul had just said, the heart of the gospel is Christ’s death and resurrection on our behalf:
1 Corinthians 15:3-4 [3]For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, [4]that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, (ESV)
Apart from the resurrection Jesus could not have conquered sin or death or hell, and those three great evils would forever conquer humanity. Without the resurrection the good news would be bad news, and there would be nothing worth preaching. Without the resurrection the gospel would be an empty, hopeless message of meaningless nonsense. Unless our Lord conquered sin and death, making a way for believers to follow in that victory, there is no gospel to proclaim.
• What we discuss from the pulpit, in Bible studies or in private study is not how to get better and have a happy life. It all rests on the historical fact of the resurrection. That fact, informs and directs every thought, belief and action.
c) Faith in Christ Would Be Worthless (1 Cor. 15:14b)
Just as no resurrection would make preaching Christ meaningless, it would also make faith in Him worthless. Faith in such a gospel would be vain (kenos). The Greek for “vain” here is, empty, unreal (, fruitless, void of effect, to no purpose) (Jamieson, R., Fausset, A. R., Fausset, A. R., Brown, D., & Brown, D. (1997). A commentary, critical and explanatory, on the Old and New Testaments (1 Co 15:14). Oak Harbor, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc.).
• Faith is not hoping that something will happen. It is belief on fact, and because of that fact and the promises that flow from them, we trust in the person who acted and promised of the things to occur.
A dead savior could not give life. If the dead do not rise, Christ did not rise and we will not rise. We then could only say with the psalmist, “Surely in vain I have kept my heart pure” (Ps. 73:13), or with the Servant in Isaiah, “I have toiled in vain, I have spent My strength for nothing and vanity” (Isa. 49:4).
If there were no resurrection, the hall of the faithful in Hebrews 11 would instead be the hall of the foolish. Abel, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Sarah, Moses, Rahab, David, the prophets, and all the others would have been faithful for nothing. They would have been mocked, scourged, imprisoned, stoned, afflicted, ill–treated, and put to death completely in vain. All believers of all ages would have believed for nothing, lived for nothing, and died for nothing.
For Paul the point of the resurrection is not simply that the creator god has done something remarkable for one solitary individual, but that, in and through the resurrection, ‘the present evil age’ has been invaded by the ‘age to come’, the time of restoration, return, covenant renewal, and forgiveness. An event has occurred as a result of which the world is a different place, and human beings have the new possibility to become a different kind of people (Ciampa, R. E., & Rosner, B. S. (2010). The First Letter to the Corinthians. Pillar New Testament Commentary (756). Grand Rapids, MI; Cambridge, U.K.: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company.).
d) All Witnesses to and Preachers of the Resurrection Would Be Liars
(1 Cor. 15:15)
If there is no such thing as resurrection of the dead, then every person who claimed to have witnessed the risen Christ and every person who preached the risen Christ was a liar, including Paul and the other apostles (we). They would be pseudo–witnesses, claiming falsely to be from God and testified/witnessing falsely about /against/concerning God that He raised Christ.
To deny the resurrection is to call the apostles and every other leader of the New Testament church not simply mistaken but willfully mistaken, that is, liars. There is no possibility, as many liberals claim, that such a mistake could have been innocent or naive. Those witnesses could not have been honest men who unwittingly gave bad advice. If Christ was not raised from the dead, they not only were not sent by God with a message from Him, but were liars who would have had to conspire together in order for their lies to have been so consistent and harmonized. If the apostles, the prophets, and the New Testament writers lied about the heart of the gospel why should they be believed about anything else? Why should their moral teachings be considered inspired and lofty if they so blatantly falsified their teaching about Jesus’ resurrection? All New Testament truth stands or falls together based on the resurrection.
Not only that, but those witnesses would have testified, preached, and taught a lie for which they were maligned, beaten, imprisoned, and often martyred and which many still suffer and die today (back of bulletin). Such self–sacrifice, however, is not the stuff of which charlatans are made. People do not die to preserve a lie.
Although Paul does not mention it specifically, it clearly follows that if the resurrection were not true, Christ Himself lied, or at best was tragically mistaken. In either case, He hardly would have qualified as the divine Son of God or the world’s Savior and Lord. Jesus would not have been Victor but victim. Or, if the New Testament writers completely misrepresented what both Christ and the apostles taught, then Scripture would be a worthless document that no reasonable person would trust.
Illustration: Christ’s Resurrection: General Wellington commanded the victorious forces at the great battle of Waterloo that effectively ended the Napoleonic Wars. The story has been told that when the battle was over, Wellington sent the great news of his victory to England. A series of stations, one within sight of the next, had been established to send code messages between England and the continent. The message to be sent was “Wellington defeated Napoleon at Waterloo.” Meanwhile a fog set in and interrupted the message sending. As a result, people only saw news of “Wellington defeated—” Later, the fog cleared and the full message continued, which was quite different from the outcome that the people originally thought had happened!
The same is true today. When many look at what happened on Good Friday, the death of Christ, they see only “defeat.” Yet, on Easter, at the Resurrection, God’s message was completed. The resurrection spelled “victory.”( Michael P. Green. (2000). 1500 illustrations for biblical preaching (304). Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books.)
2) The Personal Consequences of No Resurrection (1 Cor. 15:16–19)
1 Corinthians 15:16-19 [16]For if the dead are not raised, not even Christ has been raised. [17]And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins. [18]Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. [19]If in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied. (ESV)
Next Paul gives what may be described as three personal consequences that would result if there were no such thing as resurrection from the dead. Like the other four, these consequences have serious theological significance, but they also state much more directly how believers would be affected.
a) Everyone Would Still Be in Their Sins (1 Cor. 15:16-17)
In verse 16 Paul restates his major argument: If the dead are not raised, not even Christ has been raised. A dead Christ would be the chief disastrous consequence from which all the other consequences would result. Both verbs are true passives as are those occurring in v. 12–14 and at the end of v. 15, all stress the agency of God (Lenski, R. C. H. (1963). The interpretation of St. Paul’s First and Second epistle to the Corinthians (654). Minneapolis, MN.: Augsburg Publishing House.).
The next consequence Paul mentions in verse 17 is both personal and serious: if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile/worthless and you are still in your sins. (Without the resurrection) salvation would be only a state of mind with no correspondence to reality. Faith would be futile (mataia, “without results”; cf. kenē, “empty,” in vv. 10, 14, eikē, “without cause” or “without success,” v. 2).
The Resurrection was God’s validation that the redemption paid by Christ on the cross was accepted (Rom. 4:25) (Walvoord, J. F., Zuck, R. B., & Dallas Theological Seminary. (1983-). The Bible knowledge commentary : An exposition of the scriptures (1 Co 15:17). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.).
In verse 14 Paul uses the adjective useless, but here “futile/worthless.” The difference is that the Greek adjective kenē, translated “useless,” expresses emptiness and the Greek adjective mataia, translated “futile/worthless,” connotes aimlessness (Trench, Synonyms of the New Testament, pp. 191–92.).
After repeating the consequence that believers’ faith would be futile/worthless/vain (v. 14), the apostle points to the obvious additional result that believers would be no better off spiritually than unbelievers. Christians would still be in their sins just as much as the most wicked and unbelieving pagan. We would all be in the same boat as the unbelievers to whom Jesus said, “You … shall die in your sin” (John 8:21).
If Jesus did not rise from the dead, then sin won the victory over Christ and therefore continues to be victorious over humanity. If Jesus remained dead, then, when we die, we too will remain dead and damned. “The wages of sin is death” (Rom. 6:23), and if we remain dead, then death and eternal punishment are the only prospects of believer and unbeliever alike. The purpose of trusting in Christ is for forgiveness of sins, because it is from sin that we need to be saved. As we previously saw: “Christ died for our sins” and “was buried, and … raised on the third day” (1 Cor. 15:3–4). If Christ was not raised, His death was in vain, our faith in Him is in vain, and our sins are still counted against us. We are still dead in trespasses and sins and will forever remain spiritually dead and sinful. If Christ was not raised, then He did not bring forgiveness of sins or salvation or reconciliation or spiritual life, either for now or for eternity.
Please turn to Romans 6
Because Christ does live, we too shall live (John 14:19). “The God of our fathers raised up Jesus, whom you had put to death by hanging Him on a cross. He is the one whom God exalted to His right hand as a Prince and a Savior, to grant repentance to Israel, and forgiveness of sins” (Acts 5:30–31) (cf. Rom. 4:23-25).
Romans 6:1-11 [6:1]What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? [2]By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it? [3]Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? [4]We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life. [5]For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. [6]We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin. [7]For one who has died has been set free from sin. [8]Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. [9]We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him. [10]For the death he died he died to sin, once for all, but the life he lives he lives to God. [11]So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus. (ESV)
• Belief in the death, burial and resurrection of Christ is not a ticket to sin, but death to the old nature and the dominion of sin. Faith in Christ means that we don’t live to sin, we have been crucified with Christ. We have died to living for sin and have been raised to a newness of life, with a new nature.
b) All Former Believers Would Have Eternally Perished (1 Cor. 15:18)
If there is no resurrection, as it says in verse 18: then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. Fallen asleep does not refer to what is often called soul sleep but was a common euphemism for death (cf. vv. 6, 20; Matt. 27:52; Acts 7:60; 2 Pet. 3:4). Every saint, Old Testament or Christian, who had died would have forever perished. Perished never means annihilation or cessation of being. Is not loss of being, but rather loss of well-being. It speaks of ruin as far as the purpose for which a person or thing was created (MacDonald, W., & Farstad, A. (1997). Believer’s Bible Commentary : Old and New Testaments (1 Co 15:18). Nashville: Thomas Nelson.).
Without God and without hope, faith would have been in vain, sins would have been unforgiven, and destiny would be damnation.
c) Christians Would Be the Most Pitiable People on Earth (1 Cor. 15:19)
In light of the other consequences, the last in verse 19 is rather obvious. If in Christ we have hoped in this life only [and we have; ei with the indicative] we are of all people most to be pitied. Without the resurrection, and the salvation and blessings it brings, Christianity would be pointless and pitiable. Without the resurrection we would have no Savior, no forgiveness, no gospel, no meaningful faith, no life, and no hope of any of those things. If the Christian faith is some mere panacea in this life, then given the cost of being a Christian in the pluralistic world of Corinth, Christians were the most pathetic people on earth. Paul has brought this false view to its logical conclusion. They should abandon their profession if there is no resurrection of the body (Carson, D. A. (1994). New Bible commentary : 21st century edition (4th ed.) (1 Co 15:12–19). Leicester, England; Downers Grove, Ill., USA: Inter-Varsity Press.).
To have hoped in this life only would be to teach, preach, suffer, sacrifice, and work entirely for nothing. If Christ is still dead, then He not only cannot help us in regard to the life to come but He cannot help us now If He cannot grant us eternal life, He cannot improve our earthly life. If He is not alive, where would be our source of peace, joy, or satisfaction now. The Christian life would be a mockery, a charade, a tragic joke.
A Christian has no Savior but Christ, no Redeemer but Christ, no Lord but Christ. Therefore if Christ was not raised, He is not alive, and our Christian life is lifeless. We would have nothing to justify our faith, our Bible study, our preaching or witnessing, our service for Him or our worship of Him, and nothing to justify our hope either for this life or the next. We would deserve nothing but the compassion reserved for fools.
But we are not to be pitied, for Paul immediately continues:
1 Corinthians 15:20 [20]But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. (ESV)
In verse 20, Paul reaffirms Christ’s resurrection: But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, a truth his readers already acknowledged and believed (vv. 1–2). He uses the perfect tense has been raised (see on v. 4) with full meaning. Not only did Christ rise on a certain day in history, but he continues permanently in his character as the risen Lord (Morris, L. (1985). Vol. 7: 1 Corinthians: An introduction and commentary. Tyndale New Testament Commentaries (205). Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press.).
Christ did not become the firstfruits at some time after His resurrection, but at the moment of His resurrection, by the very fact of His resurrection. His being raised made Him the first fruits of all who would be raised.
Before Israelites harvested their crops they were to bring a representative sample, called the firstfruits, to the priests as an offering to the Lord (Lev. 23:10). The full harvest could not be made until the firstfruits were offered. That is the point of Paul’s figure here. Christ’s own resurrection was the firstfruits of the resurrection “harvest” of the believing dead. In His death and resurrection Christ made an offering of Himself to the Father on our behalf.
The significance of the firstfruits, however, not only was that they preceded the harvest but that they were a first installment of the harvest. The fact that Christ was the firstfruits therefore indicates that something else, namely the harvest of the rest of the crop, is to follow In other words, Christ’s resurrection could not have been in isolation from ours. His resurrection requires our resurrection, because His resurrection was part of the larger resurrection of God’s redeemed.
The resurrection of which Paul speaks here is permanent resurrection Both the Old and New Testaments tell of persons who died and were miraculously brought back to life (1 Kings 17:22; 2 Kings 4:34–36; 13:21; Luke 7:15; John 11:44). But all of those persons died again. Even those whom Jesus raised—the son of the widow of Nain, Jairus’s daughter, and Lazarus—eventually died again. Christ Himself, however, was the first to be raised never to die again.
As in 15:6, 18 (cf. Matt. 27:52; Acts 7:60; 2 Pet. 3:4), those who have/are fallen asleep refers to the dead, in this instance to the righteous dead, whose spirits have gone to be with the Lord (2 Cor. 5:8; cf. Phil. 1:23) but whose remains are in the grave, awaiting recomposition and resurrection.
Please turn to 1 Thessalonians 4
Quote: Theologian Erich Sauer has written, “The present age is Easter time. It begins with the resurrection of the Redeemer and ends with the resurrection of the redeemed. Between lies the spiritual resurrection of those called into life through Christ. So we live between two Easters, and in the power of the first Easter we go to meet the last Easter.”
• The last Easter to which Saner refers is, of course, the bodily resurrection of the saved. Scripture speaks of that resurrection of the righteous (Rev. 20:6; 1 Thess. 4:13–18; 2 Cor. 5:1–5; Luke 14:14; John 5:29), calling it the first resurrection. The second is the resurrection of the unrighteous (John 5:29). It is of the first resurrection that Paul speaks in 1 Corinthians 15.
1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 [13]But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who are asleep, that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope. [14]For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep. [15]For this we declare to you by a word from the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep. [16]For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. [17]Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord. [18]Therefore encourage one another with these words. (ESV)
Illustration: Belief in a Personal Resurrection: John G. Paton, a nineteenth-century missionary to the South Seas, met opposition to leaving his home in Scotland and going to preach to the cannibalistic peoples of the New Hebrides Islands. A well-meaning church member moaned to him, “The cannibals, the cannibals! You will be eaten by the cannibals!”
Without hesitation, Paton replied, “I confess to you that if I can live and die serving my Lord Jesus Christ, it makes no difference to me whether I am eaten by cannibals or by worms; for in that Great Day of Resurrection, my body will rise as fair as yours in the likeness of our risen Redeemer!” (Michael P. Green. (2000). 1500 illustrations for biblical preaching (303). Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books.)
What would you do if you knew for certain that no one could defeat you, whatever you did, evil could not triumph, and what you achieve is only a limited as your scope? The most powerful symbol of achievement is an empty cross corresponding to an empty tomb. These are the symbols that show death is defeated, evil cannot win, and through faith in Christ, we cannot be stopped. The only question is, are these symbols of legend or love for you. Your answer to this will determine not only your life now, but for all eternity.
(Format note: Outline & some base commentary from MacArthur, J. (1996). 1 Corinthians (407–415). Chicago: Moody Press.)
